


A Summers Dip

by Bumblebeebitch



Category: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z
Genre: Fluff, Hair Washing, M/M, Yamcha - Freeform, Z Fighters - Freeform, dragon ball - Freeform, tenshinhan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26889958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bumblebeebitch/pseuds/Bumblebeebitch
Summary: While taking an afternoon off from training for the next World martial arts championship, Tien Shinhan and his training partner Yamcha share a bath in a pretty little lake. Yamcha offers to help Tien shave his head. This takes place sometime in the 3 years between the 22nd tournament and the 23rd.
Relationships: Tien/Yamcha, Yamten, tiencha (Dragon Ball) - Relationship, yamcha x tien, yamucha x tenshinhan
Kudos: 12





	A Summers Dip

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic ever, so I hope it's alright... :)

Tien slumped onto the ground, panting and sweat drenched, the late afternoon sun still bearing down, glimmering off the water of the small lake they had set up camp next to. He closed his three eyes against the shining water and took a deep breath, letting his body relax against the sandy ground. He had just finished an hours long sparring match with his companion, Yamcha, his muscles still thrumming from the experience. Sparring with Yamcha was fast becoming one of his favourite times of day. He didn’t have to hold back with the wild haired man the same way he did with his usual sparring partner, Chiaotzu. Sure, Chiaotzu was incredible in his own right, but the small boy was more comfortable with his psychic abilities, than he was with hand to hand combat.

This was one of the rare days where Tien hadn’t seen Chiaotzu at all, especially since they had started training with Yamcha and Krillin for the next world martial arts championship. His small companions had stayed in the little town at the base of the mountain- not by choice mind you. A small training accident had left an elderly woman's home with a rather large hole in the roof, so Krillin and Chiaotzu had stayed behind to fix their mistake and the old lady ended up insisting they do a couple days worth of picking in her apple orchard. She promised to feed them and give them a comfy bed to sleep in, Tien had the feeling that she was glad for the company- and the help. He and Yamcha had gone on ahead, no doubt the boys would catch up in no time, once they had atoned for the roof.

He felt the air moving in front of his face, a hand waving _“Earth to Tien-”_ Yamcha’s jovial voice pulled him from his reverie. He smiled up to the long haired man “sorry, was lost in my thoughts again.” Tien sat up a bit and ran a calloused hand across the back of his head, feeling the small spiky hairs that had sprouted, he’d have to shave again soon. _“Ha, for such a meathead, you sure think a lot.”_ Yamcha joked.

Tien couldn’t help but to laugh, he’d never really had friends, other than chiaotzu. Let alone friends that were comfortable enough to tease him. Funny to think that when he first met Yamcha he saw him as a little more than a pretty boy. A pretty boy who needed to be put in his place. He remembered with shame just how he had accomplished that… And yet, here he was, sitting with Yamcha, sharing a laugh.

The smiling man in front of him could have held a grudge. Could have turned his back when Tien won the 22nd tournament. But he didn’t, he’d walked straight up to Tien, somewhat awkwardly on his crutches and extended an olive branch to him. It had shocked Tien to his core. He had broken Yamcha’s leg, and likely his pride too, but Yamcha looked him in the eyes and forgave him. Not many people would do the same. It had touched Tien’s heart, if he was being honest.

 _“You’re doing it again.”_ Yamcha chuckled. Tien shook his head of the thoughts. “So what now?” Tien queried. _“well I don’t know about you but I feel pretty gross with all this sweat, and that lake looks mighty inviting. I’m going for a dip.”_ Before Tien could say anything Yamcha was peeling off his dirty tank and loosening the belt around his waist, he dropped his pants, underwear and all and ran toward the lake.

Tien felt his mouth gaping open, his heart beating fast... He quickly rearranged his features to what he hoped would read as nonchalance. It’s not as if he’d never seen another man naked before. He was a martial artist, people were pretty free in the change rooms of tournaments and it had never bothered him before... Hell, he was well known for getting around shirtless a fair amount of the time. But seeing Yamcha’s warm brown skin free of clothes, glistening with sweat, his toned bum slightly paler than the rest of him, run toward the water had made his throat feel dry. This wasn’t the first time his body had reacted strangely to Yamcha, in fact it was becoming fairly common. He took a deep breath and sat up straight, not quite sure what to do.

“ _You coming in?_ ” Yamcha called while sinking down to drench his long wavy hair _“It’s really nice.”_ He didn’t particularly want to stay drenched in sweat and couldn’t find a reason not to join Yamcha in the lake “Yep. Yeah.” Tien stammered. Trying not to stare at his training mate who was floating on his back in the bright blue water, the picture of ease. _“Can you grab my little shower case for me?”_ Yamcha asked.

Tien knew the one he meant, it was an old make up bag of Bulma’s, as evidenced by the large hot pink bubble writing printed on the plastic that said “Bulma’s Makeup bag” Tien had chuckled at the site of it when he first saw it. Bulma loved printing random things with her name, shoes, socks, t shirts, you name it. She’d even given Goku and Krillin caps and t-shirts with their names printed on the front. He wondered if she would have a Tenshinhan hat for him the next time they saw each other.

Tien was careful not to bring Bulma up too often, though, as Yamcha and her hadn’t exactly parted on great terms the last time they’d seen each other. This wasn’t exactly uncommon for them, according to Krillin. Bulma had tracked them down and camped out a couple nights before blowing up at Yamcha for something he didn’t really comprehend and told Yamcha they were over. He could tell Yamcha was hurt, the typically upbeat man was quiet for a few days afterward. As much as Tien liked Bulma and her plucky attitude, he wasn’t a big fan of how she spoke to Yamcha… Not that he understood how people were meant to speak to each other in relationships, or even just generally.

He shrugged out of his pants, leaving his underwear firmly on, grabbed the bag and made his way to the water.

 _“ Dude, you’re such a slow poke today, if you keep up this pace I’m gonna have to leave you in the dust_ _”_ Yamcha teased again, using his hand to shade his eyes as he looked up at the slightly less bald than usual man. Tien tried to match his jokey tone “psht, I’m only this slow because you’ve been rubbing off on me” Yamcha raised an eyebrow at that and snickered. Okay, could have phrased that one better.

He passed Yamcha the bag and then sunk down into the cool water himself, savoring the feel of it against his skin. Yamcha pulled a small bar of soap from the bag and got to work sudsing himself up, Tien decided he best appreciate the view of the lake and trees, rather than his friend.

 _“_ _Man, do I miss proper showers. All those years living at capsule corp made me soft, I think. The desert bandit wouldn’t even recognize me.”_ “Mmm.” was all Tien replied. Yamcha’s hair had been cropped shorter when they first met but now was past his collarbone in length, Tien had to admit the haphazard, floofy way Yamcha’s hair reacted to humidity was quite adorable. He was handsome with short hair too but this length seemed to suit his personality.

He looked over to Yamcha who was dunking himself under the water, careful to keep the little bag up in the air, washing the soap off his body. Looking at Tien he asked _“I noticed your hair has grown out a tiny bit, you want me to tidy it up?”_ Tien was slightly thrown off by this “What do you mean?”. _“I have a spare razor in here, I can shave your head for you… Unless you want to grow it out?”_ Yamcha sounded unsure.

Tien felt like his heart skipped a beat. Yamcha was offering to shave his head? Wasn’t that somewhat... intimate? Or maybe he was just projecting something onto nothing, after all it’s a head shave, not a candle lit dinner. He still couldn’t shake the fluttering her felt in his stomach. “Uh, yeah, sure... That would be good?” The way he spoke almost sounded like he was asking a question. “Thanks, Yamcha.” _“no worries, man! What are bros for.”_ Yamcha winked.

That wink did not help the feeling in Tien’s stomach.

Yamcha handed Tien the bag, while he kept the little soap bar in his hands. _“Alright, big guy, you’re gonna have to kneel down a bit further.”_ Tien complied feeling the rough surface of the lake under his legs. Yamcha got to work rubbing the soap onto Tien’s scalp, it felt quite nice having someone else rub his head for once. “ _Alright, can you pass me the razor_ ” Yamcha gave him the soap and waited to be handed the razor. Tien passed it back and Yamcha carefully set to work again. He was very slow and precise. Tien smiled to himself, it seemed Yamcha was worried about nicking him.

He couldn't help but to get a bit lost in the feeling of Yamcha’s warm, softer than he would have supposed, hands on his head and neck. Closing his eyes and breathing deep, he relished the vulnerability for a moment. He usually tried to repress any thoughts of Yamcha that might make his feelings even more complicated, but right now all he felt was Yamcha’s hands on his skin. And they felt so right.

Even though Yamcha went rather slow, the experience was still over too soon. Running his hand over Tien’s head one final time, to check it was all smooth, Yamcha placed the razor back in the case. Tien followed suit and ran his hand over his scalp, feeling the smooth skin.

 _“ How’s that feel?”_ He turned to smile at Yamcha. “Perfect. Than-.” Tien’s answer got stuck in his throat, Yamcha was beaming at him, his hands resting on his hips in triumph, his broad tanned chest jutting out, wet hair pushed out of his face. Gods, was he handsome. “Thanks.” He finally finished, feeling a deep crimson spread out across his cheeks. Yamcha gave him a friendly, if perplexed, smile.

Glancing down to the case in his hands where Yamcha just put the razor he noticed two mini bottles, shampoo and conditioner, the kind you get for free at a motel. Not wanting the intimacy to end just yet and before he could even caution himself against his more impulsive ideas he pulled the bottles out “Do you want me to wash your hair for you?” Now that it was out there he couldn’t take it back, he felt like he’d swallowed a lead balloon. What the hell was he thinking, offering to wash his training partners hair? Head shaving was nowhere near as intimate as that.

He was just about to bolt from the water but Yamcha stopped him by smiling wide and saying _“Really?”_ , Tien shrugged “Sure, I’d just be repaying the favour.” Once again trying for nonchalant, but feeling like he missed by a mile. Yamcha still hadn’t said yes and he was starting to feel like a real goon holding those tiny bottles in his hand.

“Toss the bag ashore.” was all Yamcha said before sitting lower in the water with his back to Tien. So that was a yes, then? He did as he was told and tossed it ashore with the razor and soap inside. Okay, no need to panic. He was just washing the tresses of a handsome man he was friends with and had increasingly strong feelings for. No big deal... But which comes first? Shampoo or conditioner? Maybe it didn’t matter? Almost as if reading his mind Yamcha said _“Shampoo, then conditioner.”_

Tien nodded to himself. Handing the conditioner to Yamcha, he popped the cap on the shampoo and squeezed a fair amount into the palm of his hand. Gently rubbing his hands together he started massaging the strawberry smelling liquid onto Yamcha’s hair, sticking mostly to his scalp, since he figured that's where the sweat would be. He worked his way down the back of Yamcha’s head and the length of his hair. Yamcha moaned, a deep, satisfied sound _“I love it when people play with my hair.”_ He breathed gently. It was very difficult for Tien to not stop dead in his tracks. His hands made Yamcha moan. He tried to suppress the excitement certain areas of his body were trying to conjure. He had a job to finish.

Pondering how to wash the shampoo out he decided an energy technique would do nicely. Placing his hands over the water he used energy to gather a litre or so of water “Lean your head back a bit.” Yamcha did as he was told leaning back with his eyes closed. Tien was grateful that his eyes were closed, it would have been too much for him otherwise. He let the energy go and the water poured over Yamcha’s hair, he repeated a few times until any residue was gone. He placed a hand on Yamcha’s shoulders to sit the man back up, Yamcha did so and passed him the conditioner.

He followed the same steps, squeezing the conditioner onto his palms and massaging it onto Yamcha’s head. _“Could you put a bit more pressure? I like a firm head massage”_ Yamcha crooned. “Sure.” Tien pressed his fingers into Yamcha’s scalp with more pressure than he had before which elicited a shrill yelp _“I said firm, not crush my skull.”_ Yamcha’s voice suggested laughter but Tien still stopped what he was doing, unsure. _“You’re doing good, I was just kidding.”_

Tien frowned still unsure “Yamcha, you yelped like a little puppy who had his tail stepped on.” _“Yeah, you just applied a bit more pressure than I expected, is all. No biggie.”_

Not wanting this to be an unpleasant experience, the only sensible thing Tien could think to do was to have Yamcha guide the way. “Put your hands over mine and show me how much pressure you want.” Was all Tien said. _“Uh, okay.”_ Yamcha reached up and placed his hands atop Tien’s, who was once again surprised by how soft Yamcha’s hands were considering his lifestyle.

“Your hands are soft.” he said aloud, it was just a statement but Tien couldn’t fully figure out why he felt the need to say so. Yamcha sounded as though he didn’t exactly no how to reply, either. _“Oh, Panchy gave me a special cream she had Dr. Briefs develop for her, says its why she looks so young. That’s probably why.”_ Tien didn’t know what to say to that as he was distracted by the fact Yamcha’s hands were still placed over his even though they didn’t need to be anymore.So this pressure is good?” He sputtered. _“Yep”_ was all Yamcha answered as he finally let go.

Tien quickly finished rubbing the conditioner through the other mans thick, dark hair. Now that he thought about it he was meant to be washing Yamcha's hair, not giving head massages… but he wasn’t complaining.

He kept up the same pressure, massaging for longer than he probably needed to, enjoying a little bit of peace in amongst all of the hard training. From the relaxed set of Yam’s shoulders it would seem he was rather enjoying it too. After another minute he supposed it was time to wash the conditioner out, he couldn’t run his fingers through Yamcha’s hair forever, even if he wanted to.

“Lean your head back again.” Was all he said. The other man did exactly that and just as before he used an energy technique to gather water and finish the job. “Alright, seems clean.” He finally said, sad that this experience was over. Yamcha sat up again, running his hand over his locks. He turned to Tien with a contented sigh _“Thanks for that.”_ deep brown eyes met his. “Like I said, just returning the favour.” Tien replied, instantly. " _Yeah, yeah, So you say. Now that I know you have magic fingers I hope you realise that I will be expecting more head massages.”_ Though Yamcha’s tone was playful, there was an undercurrent to his voice.

Tien’s felt his cheeks heating again. He really needed to get a grip. “Well, same goes for your shaving abilities, wolf boy.” Yamcha clapped an arm around Tien’s shoulder “ Alright, it’s a deal.” He stood embracing the bigger man gently for a second, Tien’s breath catching in his throat, but before he could think anymore of it Yamcha used all his force to pull Tien down into the water, dunking them both underneath.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Well, if you made it this far I hope you enjoyed it. I just love the chemistry between these two and wish they got more screen time. Thanks for reading!


End file.
